England are worried Gary Cahill may have broken his jaw in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Belgium to become the latest player forced out of the European Championship. Roy Hodgson also has fitness concerns over his other first-choice central defender, John Terry, who faces a scan on Sunday on a tight hamstring. But the England manager was far more troubled by Cahill's condition after a win secured by Danny Welbeck's well-taken goal.

Cahill lost a tooth when he was propelled into Joe Hart by an unexpected shove from behind from the Belgium forward Dries Mertens as he was shepherding the ball back to his goalkeeper in the first half. He played no further part in the match and was sent straight for a CT scan.

"If it is just bruising we will take him but if he has a fractured jaw we will obviously have to find another replacement," Roy Hodgson said. He described a fracture as a "distinct possibility", with an announcement due from the Football Association on Sunday.

Hodgson was furious over the incident, which would have been reckless enough in a competitive game but was completely uncalled for in a friendly. Cahill would not have been prepared for such a meaty push from behind and had no opportunity to brace himself for a collision. "Unfortunate is too kind a word; I wasn't happy with it," Hodgson said. "If you have played the game you will know that defenders and goalkeepers take very unkindly to that sort of thing. The Belgian player got a yellow card, which he deserved, but the consequences of his action could be much greater for us."

Not the least of Hodgson's worries will be to whom to turn should Cahill be ruled out. Rio Ferdinand is the obvious choice but that would involve a dramatic U-turn and reopen the question of whether he can get along with Terry. Micah Richards considered himself snubbed when left out of the latest England squad and said he did not wish to go on the standby list, so the England manager's most realistic alternative is Martin Kelly, of Liverpool, who is on standby but as a right-back. He could be taken in that capacity, with Joleon Lescott promoted to starter and Phil Jones and Phil Jagielka still in reserve.

Hodgson said he had a "slight worry" over the condition of Terry, who was substituted in the 70th minute. "We have worked quite hard this week and players are going to feel a bit tight in their muscles and he said he felt a slight tightening in his hamstring. That doesn't necessarily mean anything other than fatigue. But he will also have a scan tomorrow and I will have a definite answer after that."

The manager has already lost Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard and John Ruddy from the initial squad he selected for Euro 2012. He said that Steven Gerrard, his captain, had been taken off near the end on Saturday because of cramp.

On the positive side, Hodgson was delighted with the goal Welbeck scored and pleased to see Scott Parker come through unscathed. "It was a very good goal, the highlight of the game," he said. "He showed remarkable calmness to finish like that but I was also delighted with the way we fashioned it.

"Danny has been on antibiotics – that's the only reason we took him off early – but he gave us a very good 55 minutes. Scott Parker gave us another whole game, which was good news. I'm happy he has got over his injury now and is fit to play. We've had to push him a bit in the last two games. He's obviously not at his sharpest but at least he's got through.

"It would be better if the tournament was still two or three weeks away, but it isn't, so we'll take what we've got. There's no reason why Scott and Steven Gerrard should not form an effective partnership for England. I was impressed with the amount of work Gerrard got through in the game."

Hodgson was also impressed with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's sporadically lively contribution on what he described as the teenager's proper England debut, even if the manager could not remember whether he had used him as a substitute in Oslo last week. "We make so many changes I have a job keeping track," he confessed.

He acknowledged, though, the need for improvement. "In terms of the shape of the team defensively we haven't done too badly. There have been some good signs for us there, but there is certainly a lot of work we need to do on our shape offensively. Sometimes when we have got the ball we are too wide in the wide areas and not making enough of getting the ball into those pockets behind the midfield players, but it is something we are working on.

"But I am pretty happy really with the defensive shape. We've played Norway away and Belgium at home – we haven't chosen an easy route for ourselves. Belgium are a good team.

"They gave us exactly the sort of test I thought they would and we came out with a victory and I am satisfied with that. I'm not prepared to be too critical. I am more than satisfied with what the players are trying to give the team and the country. I admire the fact that they have given such a great amount of determination and concentration."

Hart believes the team will step up a level for their opening Euro 2012 game, against France. "We need to do better in lots of ways. We need to have really high standards. We need to trust each other more on the ball. I think we'll perform differently when it comes to France."

Marc Wilmots, Belgium's caretaker manager, insisted his side had deserved a draw but praised England's resilience in defence. "We controlled the game for the first half hour but then we made a mistake, giving the ball away, and it cost us. It was a good defensive performance by the English, and the player that caught my eye was Ashley Cole, with his quick feet. I think England have enough good individuals to get out of their group at the Euros."